Kurt Cobain Exhibit Destroyed by Fire in Nirvana Frontman’s Hometown

The west-side town of Aberdeen lost a massive piece of their history over the weekend, as a fire destroyed the Aberdeen Museum of History. Within the museum was an entire section dedicated to Aberdeen native Kurt Cobain and the iconic career of Nirvana, now decimated by the fire and smoke. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

The fire broke out June 9, with the alarm call arriving at 9:26 a.m. Flames 15-20 feet high consumed the building as black smoke filled the interior before escaping through the collapsed roof. The building is usually busy on weekdays, but the fire happened on Saturday, so no one was hurt.

"People have come from around the world to see what we had on Nirvana," museum curator Dave Morris told King 5 News. "Then we when they saw the rest of the history they were impressed. There's more to Aberdeen than just Kurt Cobain. This fire is history, so it will be in the record books. And we're going to rebuild and move on, and keep the history preserved. That's my job."

New artwork was installed in 2017 to commemorate what would have been Kurt Cobain’s 50th birthday. Local woman Jennifer Lundberg’s mother painted a mural for the museum. "It was Kurt Cobain and it really means a lot because he's from here. It's just beautiful art," Lundberg told Komo News.

Crews remained on location over the weekend to survey hot spots while firefighters are still investigating how the fire started.